Papa I'm Coming Home...Back to my Identity

The Prodigal Son- Luke 15= SO GOOD

I went to prayer this morning at OHSU with a small group of Christians on campus, and we read this parable. It is one of my favorites. We went through this passage multiple times this year, and each time we were looking for something different, but every time I read it it's new again, and I can't help but be blown away by what the Lord is speaking.

First of all.. The Son Coming home, but before we can get into that, WHY DID HE EVER LEAVE? I think that's one of the most important questions we need to ask, because it's the same reasons we leave the Lord everyday. It's the same reasons I walk away from my father, and that's from not understanding who I am.

IDENTITY CRISIS much? The younger son in this story clearly didn't understand that he had access to everything in his father's home. EVERYTHING. There was nothing his Father was withholding, but yet he felt the need to separate himself and do things on his own. How often do we think our plans are better than our Father's? Or when we are doing well, that we disregard that He is with us in the good and the bad. It's not just us making things well for ourselves. When the son left there was no preface, He just chose to leave. He took for granted the fellowship that he had with the Father everyday, and all the blessings he had around him.

REALITY CHECK- Once he is gone and has squandered his inheritance He gets the revelation that "even the servants" in His home are better off than He. Now it sucks that being hungry is what drives his revelation, but who am I to judge, a lot of times it's things in the physical realm, my own "needs" that send me running back to my Father as well.

HUMILITY- I'll give the son some applause here, that he sets off for home with a humble heart. He realizes it was his own choice to set off, and his own poor decisions that landed him in a pig pen and wants to go home not even asking to be brought in as a son, but as a servant. Here is where stuff starts to get good.

ROYALTY vs. POVERTY mindset- Although he is right, he doesn't deserve anything, the younger son still has not gotten who he is, and more importantly, who his Father is. Everything flows out of that truth. His place as the son never changed, no matter where he went or what he did, that's why when the Father saw him coming he received him without condemnation, judgment, or punishment; He was instead received with Love.

How is that possible? CONFUSED? The Father never lost sight of who his son was. Just like the Lord always sees us as the men and women that He created us to be. In Romans 8 we are told that we carry the spirit of the living God, not a spirit of fear, and that we are co-heirs with Christ. Do you understand the implications of that.. the great privilege and responsibility of, like Christ, having access to everything in the Kingdom at all times. To have constant fellowship with the Spirit of the living God inside us. That tells me, I'm Royalty, we are royalty. Children of the Living God. Princes, and Princesses in the Kingdom.

Sound like a FAIRY TALE? Well, it is. It's the best love story ever written. A God, our Father, who loves us so much that through all of our sin and mess He sent His one and only son to take on all of our sin that separated us and die on the cross to redeem our lives, and reconcile us to HIM. Let that sink in. Do you understand what He did for you? And that everyday He is fighting for you. Everyday He sees you as the Man of God, or the Woman of God that He created you to be, and everyday He is free to fellowship. He is longing for you to choose Him so he can receive you with open arms. It's not a fun thing to realize I am the bratty prodigal son, but I rejoice in the fact that I am a son, well daughter, and no matter how far I stray ( which I will..) I have a Father in Heaven who receives me, even throws a party when I return and reminds me that I am His child. I am Royalty.

WHO ARE YOU? Is this new, or is this the identity you are walking in on a daily basis? If you are struggling to figure out who you are or your place in this world, really your place in the kingdom (because we no longer fit into this world) then start with the Father, seek out His heart- who is He? Who does He say I am? Scripture is littered with declarations of who the Lord is, and who we are called to be. I am positive that not once does the Lord say, you are a pauper. But instead, that He chose you, called you, you're adopted, and His plans and purpose for you are beyond your own thinking or capacity.

Just a little tidbit of thought for your day. Walk it out in the confidence that you are child of the King.